The Office of the Vice President for Research and Associate Provost
serves the MIT community by providing opportunities for
interdisciplinary research, supporting interdisciplinary laboratories,
centers and projects and through oversight of research policy issues.
The office has been involved in a number of activities in the past
year.

An exciting new interdisciplinary activity emerged as the United
States Army chose MIT to be the home of the Institute for Soldier
Nanotechnologies. The vice president for research and associate provost
has been working with the dean of engineering to design a new research
facility for this activity and to provide administrative support to the
new institute.

MIT is responding very seriously to the Environmental Protection
Agency consent decree. The ad hoc Committee for Environmental Health
and Safety, chaired by the vice president for research and associate
provost, developed a management plan to coordinate EHS practices across
the Institute. This management system was inaugurated by the
Environmental Programs Office in June, 2002, and its implementation is
underway.

A number of research policy issues come to the vice president for
research and associate provost's office. The unfortunate events
of September 11 have had an impact on university policy in several
areas. In collaboration with the Office of Sponsored Programs or the
Environmental Programs Office, the vice president for research and
associate provost has developed MIT responses to several policy issues
including select agents, conflict of interest, and export controls. The
vice president's office has been working with the International
Students and International Scholars Offices to implement the new
database system required by the Immigration and Naturalization Service
in 2003. Work with the dean for graduate students focuses on
issues of policy relating to graduate student research.

The vice president for research and associate provost formed the
Materials Facilities Council to gather leaders from the materials
research community to engage in long-range planning of their space,
renovation and facilities needs. She co-chaired the Committee for
Protection of Human Life and Infrastructure with Associate Provost
Claude Canizares. A web site will be launched in September, 2002, to
provide information about teaching and research activities related to
the war on terrorism. The Research Practice Seminars aimed at
understanding responsible conduct of research are offered twice a year.
These seminars are moderated by Dr. Stephanie Bird, special assistant
to the vice president for research, and bring together faculty,
research staff, postdoctoral students, and graduate students to discuss
topics such as mentorship, authorship, and secrecy in science.

MIT's senior counsel for intellectual property, Karen Hersey,
retired in April 2002. Ann Hammersla is serving in this role during the
search for her replacement. Effective June 1, 2002, Penny Rosser
became the director of the International Scholars Office, replacing
Dana Breese Keith. Effective July 1, 2002, Professor John N. Tsitsiklis
became the co-director of the Operations Research Center, replacing
Professor Cynthia Barnhart. Tom Quinn joined the vice president for
research and associate provost's office staff as facilities
officer in February and has handled numerous renovation and
construction issues.

Alice Gast
Vice President for Research and Associate Provost
Robert T. Haslam Professor of Chemical Engineering